Francona Jokes That Indians' September Success Came From Avoiding Chicken And Beer
BOSTON (CBS) -- Two years have passed since the infamous Red Sox collapse of September 2011. It was a month that changed baseball in Boston, and it was a month that cost Terry Francona his job.
But apparently, enough time has passed for Francona to find some humor in the situation.
Francona -- fresh off managing the Indians to a wild-card spot -- was asked for the team's secret to success in September, when Cleveland posted a 21-6 record.
"We stayed away from chicken and beer," Francona said Monday and the quote spread like wildfire on social media.
It's a sarcastic comment from Francona, who was in charge in Boston when several members of the pitching staff reportedly drank beer and ate fried chicken in the clubhouse during the fateful month of September 2011. The Red Sox went 7-20 that month, and for a variety of reasons that didn't involve food or beverage in the clubhouse, so Francona's joke is no doubt a nod to the absurdity of all the blame being placed on chicken and beer.
Francona and the Indians will get the chance to play Boston in the ALDS if they can win the one-game playoff against Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.
